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00:00to C.J. Stroud, and I kind of feel like we need to appreciate
00:04may not be the right word,
00:06but we need to recognize what's happening right before our eyes.
00:11And that's what I was thinking during the game.
00:14That's what I was talking about with some buddies in the second half
00:17when I was down there opposite the bullpen amongst the people
00:21enjoying the atmosphere and all that stuff.
00:24But do you realize what we're looking at now with C.J. Stroud?
00:28Dude, I'm starting to get a feel for it, I'll tell you that.
00:32He's finding his groove, and he's not just finding his groove.
00:35We've talked about he's a little better recognition
00:37in terms of when to get rid of the ball, when to kill a play,
00:41and live to see another down, and when to try to make a big play
00:46as he did against Kansas City, did a lot yesterday.
00:49But I think what it really is is he's making plays that,
00:53and we haven't said this maybe since 2023,
00:56he's making plays that normal quarterbacks don't make.
01:00Like normal, average, the median, so to speak, of quarterbacks just don't make.
01:06There are a handful of guys that can do some of the things that he was doing.
01:09The touchdown to Schultz I thought was superb.
01:13Another throw to Schultz.
01:14You talked about it with the elevator doors closing.
01:16That was incredible.
01:18It was the fifth possession that the Texans had.
01:20It was early in the second quarter, and that's exactly what I was doing right there
01:24is I was trying to find exactly the highlight because I would love to hear
01:26the way that it was called.
01:28So apologies for not having that, and maybe I'll still find it and play it
01:30because, again, I'm still fascinated to hear it.
01:33CJ Stroud escaping to his right out of the pocket.
01:36This is the confidence in playmaking that I think you need to have in this game
01:41or in this system because he's moving to his right,
01:44and he throws his ball to Dalton Schultz.
01:46And that sounds like, all right, fine and good.
01:48He did that plenty in this game, and he's done it a lot this season.
01:51But, no, it's not just that.
01:53You have defenders very clearly close.
01:56It is a tight window.
01:57I think you would call it a keyhole-sized window,
01:59and he just fits that football in there.
02:02And it feels like that is – I don't want to make too much of a deal of this,
02:05but it feels like there's a slight distinction in the way that CJ Stroud
02:08demonstrates his confidence in the offense right now than he has earlier on
02:13in his career where I think sometimes a quarterback could demonstrate
02:16their confidence and just throwing the ball, chucking it downfield,
02:19big arm, dropping it in the bucket, whatever.
02:21This was a different style of confidence that's necessary for this system
02:24where, you know, even in a pejorative way almost, you know,
02:28death by a thousand cuts, the, you know, staying within the offense,
02:31however you want to talk about this.
02:33That was him making a play with his feet and then just going,
02:36I can fit it in there.
02:37Like, I believe so much in myself, rightfully so,
02:40that what is typically a covered circumstance, I can't get it to this guy.
02:44He's like, no, I can get it in there.
02:45I know I can get it in there.
02:46My guy's going to catch it.
02:47And that's the level of bravado that I love seeing from CJ.
02:50That's one of the reasons why this felt like an incredible game.
02:52Because in addition to all of the making the right decisions,
02:54this was a, this was a dare of sorts being a little bit dangerous,
02:59but within the structure of the offense, absolutely.
03:01I can't get over that play.
03:02Yeah.
03:03And it's not just that one.
03:04It was several that he made.
03:05And that leads to my point of like, we're, we're not,
03:07we're not just seeing shroud kind of getting it anymore.
03:10We're seeing shroud getting it and mixing in the stuff that made CJ
03:16Stroud, you know, the talk of the league as a rookie.
03:19How far does that take this team given the defense?
03:22You know, that, that, that's the difference.
03:23You know, good defense in 2023.
03:25No, no question about that.
03:27Uh, but, but to be able to,
03:29to couple what they have on the defensive side of the ball with a
03:32quarterback that can make those types of plays in those moments and knowing
03:35when to try to make those plays.
03:38I mean, there are, there are encouraging signs all around this team.
03:43I don't know if there's a more encouraging sign than what CJ Stroud is,
03:46is playing.
03:47Right.
03:47I see you two, eight, one on the text line again,
03:50seven, one, three, five, seven, two, four, six, 10 is the number to text.
03:53If you want to get involved, y'all forget y'all spent all of the off season
03:55telling us it took Brady almost an entire season to look good in this
03:58offense.
03:59This was everything y'all told us to expect from the offensive shroud.
04:02Yeah.
04:02I mean, I think that that's fair.
04:04That's a fair point to make.
04:05I think it's easy to say that going forward.
04:07And I will say it's fair.
04:09I might've lost sight of that as we go,
04:10because you go through the roller coaster and you're close.
04:12You get blinders in some ways, but yeah, to be fair,
04:14this was the expectation that when he finds that comfort within the offense,
04:19then he allows his extreme talents that he's God given talent that he has to
04:24flourish within the offense.
04:25And that was for me, what that play represented.
04:28Can I take you to a little bit of audio here?
04:30Of course.
04:30This was Julian Edelman.
04:33Obviously played with the Patriots, other places, wide receiver.
04:36This was him talking about,
04:38I think they were asked of the AFC South who they believed would win this.
04:42You might not like his answer,
04:44but listen to the second part that he gives,
04:45because I'm kind of intrigued by this comparison that he makes.
04:48I'm going to stay with the Jags,
04:49but you cannot sleep on these Houston Texans because they're giving me
04:53serious New York Giants 2007 vibes where they have.
04:58Oh, don't bring them up.
04:59I'm just saying, if you think about it, man, it was.
05:02Hey, where are you?
05:02Eli.
05:03It was like Eli was struggling all year.
05:06I had the offense of the Texans have been struggling all year.
05:09If CJ Stroud can get it going in the back end of this season,
05:14they're going to be a problem because I'm more terrified of the Texans in the
05:19playoffs than the Jacks.
05:20Man, I'm glad we played that, that you pulled that.
05:23I'm okay at this.
05:24Because I was going to say something that I thought might get a raised eyebrow
05:28or two from you and our listeners, because that's a great comparison,
05:33or at least analogy, whatever you want to call it.
05:36Because I'm looking at the postseason.
05:38The postseason is pretty much set in the AFC.
05:40I mean, it's, we know the seven teams, right?
05:44That are going to be there.
05:44It's just a matter of where they fall.
05:45It's sure starting to settle in like that.
05:48You know what?
05:48I realize I have not checked the athletic playoff calculator in a little bit.
05:52I think I got to a place where I was like, all right,
05:53they crossed the finish line.
05:54I'm good.
05:55And I was trying to see if they win the division.
05:56But I'll double check and make sure.
05:57But it should probably be this seven.
05:59So when you look at these seven, how many quarterbacks do you say,
06:02okay, well, the Texans don't win that matchup at the quarterback position?
06:06One.
06:07At the quarterback position?
06:08Two.
06:09The way that they're playing right now, you can give me two.
06:13Two.
06:14And one of the things is, I might go one in a possible.
06:17And if I even feel uncomfortable about that.
06:19So maybe like a couple of possibles.
06:21Because Drake May has been playing fantastic football this year.
06:24But that's a rookie, right?
06:26He ain't been in playoffs.
06:27He don't know these circumstances.
06:28It gets real in the playoffs in a way that it does not necessarily in the regular season.
06:32Even in this game, right?
06:34The Patriots, we've talked about, and maybe we haven't talked about it as much,
06:37but the NFL landscape has talked about how they have the easiest schedule by far this season.
06:42This was probably their toughest game.
06:43And they go out.
06:44He looks really good.
06:45They go up to, what, a 21-0 run?
06:48Lead early.
06:49Who's that?
06:49The Bills.
06:49And even that Bills defense that we've seen, they've got some holes in there.
06:53So I don't know how much you use that to do Drake.
06:55And then on the other side, Josh Allen would be the other guy,
06:58except if he's playing the Texans, especially here.
07:01Yeah, buddy.
07:01I don't know how far that goes for him.
07:02Well, I'm glad you put it like that, because I said one or two.
07:06My third option was none.
07:08And let's go through the AFC quarterbacks that you could have to go through here.
07:12Let's start with those two.
07:13Drake May.
07:15Does he, you know, just without question win the quarterback battle against C.J. Stroud
07:21at this point, the way C.J. is playing right now?
07:23My answer would be no, because it's all new to him.
07:26He's having a tremendous year.
07:28All things being equal, if you just sort of compare and contrast,
07:30all these guys that I'm about to mention, by the way,
07:33have better season-long numbers than C.J. Stroud.
07:36Of course, C.J. missed three games as well.
07:39But Drake May, I would say, I don't know if I'd take him over C.J. Stroud at this point,
07:46you know, given the experience and inexperience for Drake May.
07:48Dude, C.J. Stroud has, one, played a lot of playoff games.
07:52I think it was, was it DJ Biennemi making the point on Twitter this weekend
07:55that C.J. has more playoff experience than a number of the quarterbacks in the league
08:01right now that people have a lot of respect for.
08:03Yeah.
08:04And he has not just the opportunity, or rather the experience,
08:07he's also been pretty damn good in those playoff games as well.
08:10So, yeah, I think that that matters a great deal when you start talking about
08:12his comparison to Drake May.
08:14So you'd agree then?
08:14Maybe not.
08:15How about Josh Allen?
08:16Best quarterback, you know, for my money, just overall in the league.
08:20But the Texans own that dude.
08:22They absolutely own Josh Allen.
08:25I mean, it's not just one off.
08:27It's consistently.
08:28So as much as Josh Allen would be the one that I would say, come on, you know,
08:32you've still got to give him the edge at quarterback.
08:35I'm not so sure about it.
08:37And then let's go to the other ones.
08:39Bo Nix?
08:40Yeah, I don't believe that.
08:42He's done a lot of pulling rabbits out of hats at the end of,
08:46in the fourth quarters of games that just feels like it's untenable
08:49and unsustainable, especially once you get to weeding out the chaff
08:53of the regular season and getting to the playoffs.
08:55Believe it or not, that one kind of scared me a little bit,
08:59only because of their defense.
09:00Right.
09:01Now, that's a good point.
09:02And I'm just wondering what can the Texans offense do with that defense?
09:05That's a real good point.
09:06And Bo Nix, I mean, say what you want,
09:08he'd make a certain amount of plays just well enough to maybe get them
09:13in field range.
09:14Absolutely fair.
09:15That's fair, but I still think, Eileen, I don't think he's got –
09:18you've got the quarterback edge.
09:19Yeah, that's just a little bit that kind of scares me.
09:22This is a wild one, but we have to mention it because he's coming off
09:24maybe one of the greatest games in the history of football.
09:27Trevor Lawrence?
09:29Yeah, man.
09:30Trevor Lawrence has been really good in this system,
09:33and that's a couple of games that he's coming off of really well.
09:36I don't know what to make of that.
09:38I think generally the answer easily is like C.J. Stroud.
09:40However, I think you might be seeing the effect of Liam Coen coaching
09:44Trevor Lawrence where he's finding a better version of himself.
09:48I think I will abstain from making that decision right this moment,
09:52and I even feel nasty saying that.
09:54But I want to see just a little bit more from what Trevor Lawrence,
09:56and especially the Broncos game, talking about it,
09:58I want to see what he does against the Broncos to get a better feel
10:01for what this is with Trevor Lawrence under Liam Coen.
10:03This one kind of got me a little worried too, man.
10:06I ain't going to lie.
10:07I felt like Trevor Lawrence – hell, the Jags been playing really well
10:12since they blew that lead to the Texans.
10:14And so I'm not – this is kind of a stint back from the offseason
10:18or even early on if they found something,
10:21if they finally unlocked Trevor Lawrence.
10:24I'm still going to say no, that I think C.J. Stroud,
10:28I would take that matchup.
10:29But both you guys are absolutely right.
10:31What about Justin Herbert?
10:34I mean, especially with the hurt hand, I don't know.
10:36Like, he's played all right football, I think I am taking C.J. Stroud,
10:41especially if he's in a place where he's playing confident,
10:43which it feels like he is.
10:44This one don't worry me at all, man.
10:46I feel like as well as Justin Herbert playing in the regular season,
10:50I feel like he's that quarterback that kind of stinking up.
10:54And the Texans own him too.
10:55Yes.
10:56Okay, the wild card here is Aaron Rodgers.
10:58It sounds blasphemous with this defense
11:04and Aaron Rodgers sort of just game managing
11:08and making the occasional superstars throw.
11:11I might have to go with old C.J. on this one.
11:14Now, the only thing that gets interesting is the Ravens could still take that spot.
11:18And that's where you go, oh, Lamar Jackson.
11:19How good has he been?
11:21He's been – he's definitely been a shell of himself,
11:24but he's still a damn good quarterback.
11:26Correct, and they're doing a little bit better of rounding into form.
11:30This was a better game for him this weekend.
11:32So that's one where I know what Lamar Jackson is
11:35in a similar way that I know what Josh Allen is.
11:37Josh Allen just has this interesting anomaly
11:39where he faces off against the Texans and stops looking like Josh Allen.
11:41Right.
11:42The interesting thing to me, though,
11:44is that we are here having this discussion after the way the season started,
11:49the lack of confidence that C.J. Stroud showed,
11:51the body language that we often talked about, facial expressions.
11:54And over the last three weeks, he's just gotten progressively –
11:57that's the most important thing to me.
11:59You know, he comes back, throws an early interception against the Colts,
12:03and we're like, oh, boy.
12:04And then he picks it up and has a hell of a finish in the Colts game.
12:06Then he goes into Kansas City,
12:08and we know that he made some spectacular plays there.
12:10And after that, comes back and faces, you know, the Cardinals
12:14and has a spectacular game yesterday.
12:16He's gotten better every week that he's come back.
12:1876% completion percentage, three touchdowns.
12:20He had the 57-yard pass.
12:22That's the slant that goes to the house.
12:25I mean, this was peak.
12:29This was peak C.J.
12:30Like, this looked fantastic.
12:32And it wasn't the flashiest, but I think if you know Ball,
12:36not to be that guy that's, like, trying to gatekeep or anything,
12:38but if you know Ball, you were just watching him play.
12:40Like, this dude is fantastic.
12:41And I don't say that to say, oh, I know Ball and I saw it.
12:44Like, I wish that I had thought to, like, grab all of the audio.
12:47Every analyst that had an opportunity to watch this game,
12:49you heard them talk about it, and they were falling over themselves
12:52with the way that C.J. handled himself.
12:54And that's one of the most encouraging things in this game.
12:56We talked about this game as an opportunity to learn a thing.
12:58I think one of the biggest things that you could circle in watching this game
13:01is C.J. Stroud looks about as confident as we've seen him this year,
13:05and it only stands to get better as he continues through this season.
13:09Now, it's early.
13:10It's Monday.
13:11We don't have to get all the way into this.
13:12It'll be interesting to see what Max Crosby on the defensive line does
13:15in that game next week.
13:17But, again, I would put money on it right now
13:19that C.J. Stroud continues this run of form as opposed to regresses from it,
13:23and that's the thing that is the most encouraging
13:24as he is clearly rounding into form.
13:27I think you've got to give Nick Caley some credit in this offense.
13:29I thought that he called a good game in this one.
13:31Yeah, he called a good game.
13:32He made some adjustments, but he also –
13:34I think he's also been giving C.J. Stroud a little more flexibility
13:38to go off script a lot.
13:40Because even though he's always been able to go off script from day one this season,
13:46just didn't do it, didn't have the confidence,
13:48I think they're kind of encouraging C.J. a lot more to like,
13:51hey, if it's not there, don't be stupid, throw it away,
13:54but don't be afraid to make the good play.
13:56Right, and I think also Caley is finding – he's honing in on what is the superpower,
14:01what do they do well as a team, and what does C.J. do particularly well right now,
14:05and it's hidden over the middle.
14:07And maybe there's going to be certain teams that you face off against
14:10where you're not going to be able to get into that as much,
14:12but I think that they have recognized – we played Mina Kimes last week making that mention.
14:16Those in-breakers, that's money.
14:18Can I give you some stats here, as you know I want to do?
14:20Yes.
14:20C.J. Stroud targeting the seams, targeting over the middle, 14 of 16, 181 yards, two touchdowns.
14:29He also averaged 3.12 seconds with the time to throw, which is one of his longest –
14:36so he's third straight game with three seconds, so he's sitting in, comfortable,
14:39making – moving when he needs to, to have the opportunity,
14:42and attacking the middle of the field for a great amount of yardage, touchdowns, good rate.
14:49I think they're also attacking the middle of the field more because they're like,
14:52this is where we do well.
14:54Let's make more of the playing out of what we do well,
14:57and I think that that's going to serve to benefit them as well.
14:59Huge credit, as you mentioned, to the way Nick Caley has made adjustments,
15:03but also huge credit to the guy that's – you've got to figure he's a part-time psychologist
15:08and motivator, and that's Gerard Johnson, who works with him every single day.
15:12He big up Gerard Johnson.
15:13He goes to the bench and immediately goes to the pad with Gerard.
15:18Because when you think about what C.J. Stroud was, from our perspective anyway,
15:22confidence-wise to what he is now, you've got to give the quarterback coach a lot of credit.
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